Yesterday brought the sad news that comedy legend Gene Wilder had passed away. The star of films such as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein has inspired countless talents who we watch on the big screen and flickering box today. While many have remembered and honored Wilder in their own way since his passing was reported yesterday, comedian and late night host Conan O’Brien paid his respects by posting his interview with the legendary actor from NBC’s Late Night back in 2005.

At first glance, it’s just a regular late night interview with Gene Wilder promoting his autobiography that was published that year. But this is actually the final appearance the actor would make on any late night talk show, which makes it rather bittersweet. They have a fantastic eight-minute discussion ranging from Willy Wonka to Young Frankenstein and more. Watch it below Read More »

So, I just finished viewing the first two episodes of Delocated, the new live-action series on [adult swim] about a family in the witness protection program that “delocates” to NYC to star in a reality show. The series’ creator and and star is funnyman Jon Glaser, best known for his work as a writer on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and a compadre of Human Giant. To describe what I just watched in one word: (f)uncomfortable. In 29: After I stopped laughing at the “Bar Mitzvah” episode, a strange darkness overcame me when I wondered what would happen if Delocated suddenly appeared in the Cleavers’s living room.

As gleefully expressed in the above image, the show’s family of “Does” is required to wear ski masks in public at all times, but also in private due to constant filming. Even more bizarrely, the family’s voices are surgically disguised with “harmonizers.” This adds a “crime show confession” paranoia to their casual back-forths, bouts of flirting, arguments and more formal elocution (re: the son’s ska-themed bar mitzvah). My favorite aspect so far is that each family member—the dad, the mom and son—address each other and everyone they encounter under an alias. As the opportunistic father, Glaser goes by “Jon.” We aren’t given their real names or a surname, and the warped detachment allowed these masked characters—if it holds—will only intensify and irk viewers as the show progresses.

Paul Rudd (and his filmography) makes a cameo in the pilot episode and comedian Eugene Mirman stars in the series as a Russian hitman out for revenge and—evidently not “or”—a career in stand-up. Clearly, Delocated is the next step for [adult swim] in the direction of live-action in addition to being a splattery platform for the ongoing sonic comedy boom in our pop culture; Many diehard messageboarders have and will continue to angrily attest that the programming on [as] is moving away from its roots in subversive animation and anime to secure a higher and more lucrative profile. You may or may not know that actor John C. Reilly ison deck for a live-action spin-off for his Dr. Steve Brule character from Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Chances are if his show was on NBC you would.